Another Valentine
by blackrose113
Summary: It took almost five years of total devotion before she finally let go. If he could've caught her, he would have. But he couldn't, and Shino was there instead. ShinoSakuSasu


**Disclaimer:** Don't own, don't sue.

**Summary:** It took almost five years of total devotion before she finally let go. If he could've caught her, he would have. But he couldn't, and Shino was there instead. ShinoSakuSasu

**Another Valentine**

"No."

Sakura had to admit that even _she_ was beginning to get tired of that word. The same response every time she tried to get him to open up. Every time she herself opened up. Oh well. Maybe tomorrow…. No. If he said no tomorrow, she'd stop asking. As if her self esteem wasn't low enough already, here she had to go making it worse.

Sakura sighed but plastered her usual fake smile on her face and have him and Naruto a cheery wave, Kakashi having disappeared already.

The next morning, she dressed a bit more…_prettily_ than usual. Just one more day until Valentine's Day, afterall, and if she were to get a date, she'd need to look her best. Now, if only she her forehead wasn't quite so large, nor her boobs so small.

Sakura shook these thoughts out of her head and stared at herself in the mirror, a white, pleated skirt over her usual stretchy shorts, and a flow-y red shirt. Her hair was pulled back into a stub of a pony tail and she had her hitai-ate on top of her head as usual.

Oblivious to the appreciative glances she drew to herself as she walked through town, she only had eyes for one person. Sasuke. At age fifteen, her love for him was as strong as ever. And as unrequited. This would be the last time she would try.

"Sasuke-kun! Naruto-kun! Kakashi-sensei!"

She called the names of her teammates and waved, surprised at having been the last to arrive. Usually, Kakashi took special measures to reserve that title as his, as they had found out the day all three decided to arrive an hour late. They had been punished with an even more late Kakashi, and a nasty mission cleaning the public toilets. None of them had ever been late again.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow at his student's clothes, "Dressed up are we, Sakura?"

Sakura grinned and pranced over, joining the rest of Team Seven at the bridge. "It's Valentine's Day!" She turned shyly to Sasuke and opened her mouth to ask one final time, quickly shutting it when he seemed to be in his usual, brooding mood. If only she could catch him in one of his _un_usual _happy_ moods.

_Inner Sakura sweatdropped, nearly tripping a Sakura's unusual thoughts. Even in her usual daydreams, Sasuke was…brooding. It was impossible for him _not_ to brood._

"We, along with Kurenai-san's team, have been hired as blend-in security at the Valentine's Day fair. We're to make sure no one shoplifts or creates trouble there, alright? So that means _we_ can't disturb them in _any way._" He looked pointedly at Naruto as he said his last sentence, earning a pout and a sniff.

The four shinobi slowly made their way to the festival, not really bothering whether they got there on time or not. Now, while Sakura was usually the punctual one, she was too busy building up the courage to ask Sasuke out one last time, to think of their arrival time.

If he rejected her today…there was only so much pain she could take. Only so much time she would spend chasing after a dream that constantly eluded her. Her stomach lurched at the thought of letting go of a dream that she had cherished for almost five years—a third of her life.

But it would be worth it. In the long run, it would be better for both her and Sasuke. If he truly didn't want her…well, all _she_ wanted was for him to be happy. If being with someone else made him happy, then it would make her happy too. So one last time.

'_One last time.'_

-0-

"No."

Sasuke wanted to flinch at the disappointment in Sakura's eyes, but he held his ground. This was what was best for her. He brought nothing but misery to those around him. How many times had he nearly killed Naruto? How many people had died when he revealed Konoha's secrets to Orochimaru? How many people had tried to bring him back, only to receive injuries that destroyed the ninja career for good?

Sakura was too…delicate for that. And he cared too much. Something no good shinobi did, but if he were to care, at least no one would know about it. His quest for power had once been the only thing important to him. How easily had he been manipulated by that?

Sakura. He couldn't let her get hurt, just because he was too weak. So he would be strong and reject her. Time and time again. Each new instance tearing at his heart. It took so long for him to realize, so long, but he couldn't do anything about it.

Maybe he was weak in rejecting her, not strong? Too weak, too scared, to take a chance? But he _was_ too weak to take a chance. Too weak to handle the consequences, so his strength came from preventing a disaster in the first place.

He watched Sakura skip away, oblivious to the inner conflict he suffered. She bounced lightly, but he could feel her distress weighing down his heart. He'd just be strong in his own little way, because he was weak in others. That was all he could do. That was all he was strong enough _to_ do.

-0-

Sakura blended in with the fair perfectly, what with her red and white attire, and pink hair. She laughed and she strolled through the bustling crowd filled with the smiling faces of children and pleased faces of the adults.

As she turned around to point something out to Naruto and Sasuke (Kakashi, being the ever so responsible jounin sensei he was, had disappeared before they even reached the fair), Sakura backed into a person. Male, by the feel of their chest, which she was pressed against, and very strong by the way he had managed to catch her before she fell as if it were nothing.

Not that she was fat or heavy or anything. Stupid Ino-pig.

"You should pay more attention to where you walk, Haruno-san."

Sakura laughed nervously and turned her head to face Shino, blushing as she realized how close they were standing. "Eh. Sorry Shino-san! I just wanted to show Naruto-kun and Sasuke-kun," she turned to point at them, "that—WHAT THE HECK!"

Naruto and Sasuke were nowhere to be found, and Sakura groaned.

"Yargh! Those stupid bakas! Hmph! Well, Naruto can buy his _own_ ramen from now on!"

She crossed her arms over her chest huffily and turned back to Shino, whose lips were upturned in mirth. Of course, she couldn't see that as most of his face was covered with the collar of his coat.

The Aburame clan had long ago decided that repressing their emotions and dehumanizing themselves even further wasn't something they wanted to do, so they adopted the habit of wearing high collared coats to hide their faces. Most Aburames showed emotion freely, but it went unnoticed due to their cloth shield.

Sakura was jostled back into Shino's chest and she groaned, rubbing her foot where someone had stepped on it. "Well Shino-san. I'm not sure if I'd like to wander around here all by myself, so do you mind if I tag along with you?"

Shino shrugged silently, but gripped Sakura's wrist and steered her to a small _umeboshi_ stall. Sakura gaped at him for a second, confusion flickering through her eyes, before grinning widely, "How'd you know! I love these!"

Shino shrugged again, "You mentioned it at the Rookie Nine's last gathering. My kikai stored this information for later."

She laughed and quickly chose out a few of the dried fruit, paying for them and popping one into her mouth. It was sweet, but not too much so.

Sakura felt an ache in her chest and she ate another _umeboshi._

This…this was what she wanted Sasuke to do for her. She wanted him to remember her favorite foods, her favorite places and activities…

Sakura knew that Shino probably thought little of their present time together, but she couldn't help but feel happiness swell at being treated like she was someone special. As she pointed out the sights to her companion, admiring the performers on the high stage and the wonderful trinkets for sale, he kept quiet. Little nods and sounds were given to show that he was listening, and Sakura soon managed to decipher different sounds and their meanings.

Every once in a while, his hand would shoot out and grab the wrist of some unsuspecting man, forcing him to return the object he had tried to swipe from a stall. The first time this had happened, Sakura had gasped in surprise, but guilt soon overcame her as she realized she wasn't doing her job well.

Her guard had been up ever since then, and though she knew Shino saw them as well, she snagged a few pick pocketers as well, sending a punch to their jaw with her super-human strength. In fact, she could've sworn she heard a chuckle or two coming from Shino…

The rest of the day was fun, something Sakura hadn't experienced in a while. She found that Shino's bugs didn't really bother her that much. Most of the time, she was able to forget about them. When they suddenly popped up though…that was a different story.

There were five bangs on the gong of the temple closest to the festival square, and Shino and Sakura both slowed to a stop. "I must go meet my teammates now, Harun—Sakura-san. It was…nice today."

How odd! Was Shino blushing?

Sakura knew her cheeks were heating up, and she grinned cheekily at her new found friend. "You too, Shino. Thanks for catching me before I fell, this morning! I should probably go meet my teammates too. Bye!"

She jogged away with a wave of her hand and felt her heart skip a beat in terror when she saw a group of black bugs crawling along side her. Those things were _scary_ when they were unexpected!

Once she reached the arranged meeting spot safely, the bugs dispersed and Sakura couldn't help smiling.

It had only been a minute of waiting before Sasuke met up with her as well, giving her a nod of acknowledgement as he leaned against a building wall. _'Now is the time.'_ Her cheeks burned and Sakura gripped her hands behind her back, feeling her sweaty palms slip against each other.

-0-

"Sasuke…will you go on a date with me? Be my Valentine?" Sakura's timid voice broke through the awkward silence and she glanced at him through her eyelashes.

Sasuke felt the usual butterflies in his stomach that accompanied such a question from Sakura, and he desperately wanted to say yes. He wanted to make her happy. He wanted to _be_ happy. But it just…couldn't happen.

There was something different in Sakura's eyes this time. Some type of _finality_ that scared him. Yes, it scared him. Ever since the two of them had been put into the same class when he was eleven, she, ten, she had fawned over him. Her head over heels attitude had annoyed him to no end at one time, but soon there was a familiarity to it.

He still hadn't forgotten the words she had spoken to him when he was thirteen and ready to abandon everything for revenge. _'I love you.'_ She told him she loved him. Even after he had been brought back from Orochimaru, she had continued her routine of asking him out on dates, perhaps just to comfort him and remind him that she accepted him as he was. She was the single stable thing in his life, and had been for five years.

So the extra gleam in her eye that told him _'This is your last chance, Sasuke. This is my last time asking. I'm moving on,'_ and it frightened him quite a bit. But not enough for him to give in and let her get hurt. So even if he hurt her this one last time, she would be safe.

"Sakura…"

-0-

Sakura held her breath after she asked. There had been no time to perhaps spend some time with him and change his previous answer, and she decided that if it were ever to happen, she should ask now.

There were a few flickers of emotion on his face, too quick to decipher, and she bit her lip.

'_Please, Sasuke. Please please please. Please, just this once. I'll cherish it all my life, I swear. I could live off just one day with you. One night out on the town. One date. One Valentine. Please.'_

The look in his eye gave her his answer before his mouth even spoke the words, but she stayed just to ingrain the moment into her memory. Closure. She needed closure.

"Sakura…I can't."

His wording confused her, and her disappointment faded a bit to be replaced with anger.

"C-can't? You _can't?_ What's that mean, Sasuke? What's that supposed to mean? You can't or you _won't?_"

He didn't answer.

-0-

'_Both.'_

"Both."

Her eyes glistened and he cursed inwardly. Not only had he messed up. Big time. But he had made her cry. He hadn't made her cry for almost a year, already. But he had made her cry now.

He shouldn't have given her hope. Shouldn't have let her see his hesitation. It would just hurt her more. It would be better if Sakura just hated him and moved on. So long as she were happy and safe…

"I won't."

"Well which is it?" Her voice was as soft as it had been before, and less angry.

"I don't…I don't feel that way about you, Sakura-chan. You're like my little sister. I can't date my little sister."

Just in those few words, he had showed how much she meant to him. He didn't call people family left and right. Not after what had happened last time. But he called her his sister.

-0-

"S-sister."

'_Sister. I'm his sister.'_

"I'm sorry for…pestering you, then, Sasuke-kun," she mumbled before giving a bright smile and walking off to a nearby stall to buy a stick of dumplings. When she returned, she had two sticks and she handed one to Sasuke, the same smile plastered on her face. He felt his throat burn and he accepted the dumplings, watching her take a bite out of hers before he ate one of his.

And so, another valentine passed. The last one for the two of them. What could've been, could now never be.

-0-

_Two years later_

-0-

"I now pronounce you husband and wife."

Cheers erupted from the crowd and Shino and Sakura kissed, all the action shielded by his high collar. Sasuke gave a feeble smile from where he watched from the trees. They had grown apart, him and Sakura. He still kept contact with Naruto, but that was more because of the energetic blonde's part than his own.

His ongoing mission of destroying the Akatsuki kept him constantly on the move, and he was lucky Naruto had managed to track him down and give him the invitation. He was sure Sakura knew he was there. Her eyes had met his some time during her walk down the aisle in a traditional white kimono.

Why had she decided to marry at age seventeen? Sakura was often sent out in the field accompanying higher ranked shinobi because of her skill as a medic-nin, and as an ANBU Shino was prone to dangerous missions. The two of them had been determined to spend as much time together as possible before either partner's inevitable early death came.

Shino was a good choice. His clan would protect their leader's family, and he could care for her a way that Sasuke was sure he would never be able to. But it still hurt. It still hurt and it would never stop. There would always be that ache. That scar. That imprint on his soul Sakura had made.

Constants tend to do that. They keep you alive. They keep you going. But when they're gone…you aren't sure if they were worth it. Worth the pain or regret.

And here their lives had led them. Him to travel the path of a lone wolf, and Sakura to live the rest of her life with another valentine.

**Fin**

**A/N: DEPRESSING! TT I'M SO SAD! I MUST WRITE A HAPPY SASUSAKU STORY NOW! And a good SakuShino with no tragedy. TEAR!**


End file.
